It looks like I need to turn to the readers here to decide on another rule for this challenge. I have had great success in getting free food from CVS when they have emailed me coupons for $x off when you by $x amount (it is definitely worthwhile to sign up on the ,a href=”http://www.cvs.com”>CVS website and they send this coupons to me on a regular basis). I received another one for $5 off a $25.00 purchase.
The only problem with this is finding $20.00 worth of free stuff so that I can get the last $5 in free food. This is especially true since I have sales tax to pay on non food items. I often have to pass on these coupons because I can't get to the amount needed without spending more than what the discount is for.
Another thing I have found is that the more of my friends and family know that I can get some pretty good deals, they ask me to buy stuff for them and then pay me back. This is what happened when my sister recently needed diapers for my niece. She read about the great deal on diapers at CVS and asked me to pick up some for her and she would pay me back.
I bought the diapers (free because my sister was paying me back) and 2 tubes of toothpaste (free with Extra Bucks and coupons) which put me over the $25.00 minimum I needed to get $5.00 off so I bought a box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal and a gallon of milk (the toothpaste will be donated as I have far more than I need):
While the math gets a bit complicated, I basically came out getting everything for free — I actually earned just under $1.00, but won't count it in this instance. (For those who like math, I paid $13.89 for everything. My sister paid me back $8.85 for the diapers ($6.99 + tax on the original $19.95 price) which meant I paid $5.04 out of pocket. I also used $8.00 in Extra Bucks that I had meaning that I spent a total of $13.04 for what I kept, but I received $14.00 in Extra Bucks back meaning that in the end I actually earned $0.96):
When I dropped off the diapers, I made sure to thank my sister for the free cereal and milk. She was not amused that she had actually helped me and challenged whether I should be allowed to get free food when buying things for others:
Sister's Argument: Since the stuff purchased wasn't free (she had to pay $8.85 for the diapers), the $5.00 should have gone toward reducing that cost. Someone had to pay for it so it wasn't really free even though it didn't happen to be me.
My Argument: I didn't go out seeking people to buy things so I could get free food, she came to me. I was asked to buy the diapers for her and simply figured out that by combining that with some other freebies available, I could reach the threshold for the $5.00 off coupon I had and get some free food for me as well.
So the question is, should I be able to use items that people pay me back for to help me get free food? Please let me know your opinion and feel free to comment on why you think I should or should not be able to do this. As per the new rules, I will abide by however the readers decide through the vote:
[poll id=”3″]
I am amazed at the amount of food that is all around when I actually pay attention. Now that I am always looking for possible foraging areas when I am out on my walks, I have been seeing opportunities left and right. This morning I was able to forage for some new fruit which I believe are loquats:
Loquat Banana Smoothie
With the new fruit find, I had to give it a try in my morning smoothie (4 loquats, a banana, 7 ice cubes) and it turned out quite good. I will definitely be having more or these in the future for a change in taste from the blackberry banana smoothies:
Corn Flakes Topped with Blackberries
In the late morning, I poured myself a bowl of Corn Flakes and used up the last of the box I had on hand. I topped it with some of the blackberries I had on hand:
Peanut Butter Sandwich with Nut Clusters
It was an extremely busy afternoon because I needed to get all my work done before heading off to the late afternoon father's Day BBQ we had planned. I didn't have time to make a proper lunch, so I simply threw together a peanut butter sandwich with nut clusters as a snack to get me through the afternoon:
BBQ Hamburger and Salad
There has been a lot of discussion between my sister and I as to whether I should be able to eat the food at family gatherings, and I have a feeling that this will be another one you will all need to decide in the future. For this gathering, there were a lot of people that heard that I was doing this challenge and couldn't believe that I was actually able to eat well on $1 a day, so they wanted me to bring food so they could see what I would be able to eat.
I ended up taking a salad (lettuce, tomato, carrot, onion and raisins), hamburger, hot dogs, half cob of corn, a lemon, a beer , hamburger toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion), nut clusters, whole wheat bread and a cup of ice cream. I also took BBQ sauce, Italian salad dressing, salt and pepper for seasonings):
I ate the nut clusters while we were BBQing and everyone else was snacking on chips, dips and spreads. Everyone else had BBQ ribs with beans while I had a BBQ hamburger, a couple of BBQ turkey franks, BBQ corn and a salad. I had my beer and a slice of lemon to drink. While the ribs did look delicious, I think my meal stacked up pretty well to what everyone else was having:
Then while everyone was having their dessert, I had my cup of ice cream. Everyone was pretty surprised at what I was able to eat and I had to keep reassuring them that I was still going to be able to eat fine for the rest of the week. There were a lot of questions about how exactly I did it and I think a few of the people there will actually give couponing a try.
This is the current list of food I still have
This is the current list of what I have purchased:
Money Spent $37.50
Money left to spend: $23.50 ($5.04 must be spent at CVS)
Retail Value of everything bought: $1010.90
The Beginning ::: Day 52: There Aren't Any Good Coupons
************************
I say don’t count it. I don’t see a point in inflating the savings. The point should be to show how easy and simple these things are…I can’t buy some Huggies for the EB and hawk them on the street easily.
With all due respect to your sister, I think someone’s crossed into the realm of being a sore loser. If you were truly in a situation where you had to live with a $1 a day food budget, you would be taking advantage of every opportunity available – farmer’s market samples, family events and purchases for others included. Since the whole point of this was to prove it could be done, I have to question why your sister feels the need to continue putting restrictions on you.
The savings count, and your sister’s argument doesn’t hold water. The whole point of your challenge is how much food you can buy off of your own money. That means that if something costs money to someone else and not to you, then the savings are still passed along to you. In fact, that’s exactly what coupons do. If your sister is right in saying that if someone pays for it, then it doesn’t count, then coupons don’t count. That’s because SOMEONE pays for the coupons, whether it’s the manufacturer or the grocery store or someone else. That money doesn’t just come out of thin air. Either the manufacturer reimburses the grocery store, the grocery store takes less money in profits, or some other way the savings are passed on to you. Someone else pays for it and the savings are passed along to you, and that’s exactly what’s going on with buying the diapers for someone else. Someone else is paying for the diapers and the savings are passed along to you. It counts, and your sister’s argument is (in my opinion) pretty silly. Sorry sis.
If your sister hadn’t *asked* you to buy them, then that would be one thing. Now she’s just trying to make it more difficult than it already is.
I think you should be allowed to do it. To me, the point of this challenge is to demonstrate different ways that one can eat well for $1/day. It just shows another area in which we can be creative to reduce the costs of our groceries. It’s the same as your foraging trips – many people have no fruit growing around them, so it’s not something that every reader can do. However, since it’s available to you, you should be allowed to do it.
While I’m not exactly a fruit expert, those look like persimmons to me. 🙂
I think your sister got a great deal on the diapers so she shouldn’t complain.
If you had not passed any of your savings on to her (like charging her the full $19.95 plus tax) then she would totally have a point.
I think you did good on this one!
That absolutely counts. If you were truly in a situation of having to eat on $1 a day, rather than doing it by choice, you would absolutely be willing to work deals like that. Same thing for samples being handed out at grocery stores are farmers’ markets (although I would go to the Farmers’ Market at the end of the day and see if you can score some deals – the farmers’ would rather make something than nothing on that leftover produce).
Same thing also with the coupon inserts – I grab extra ones and those absolutely help me keep my food budget under control. I don’t budget for those items separately. I probably don’t go after as many as you do, but I also don’t donate nearly as many items to food banks.
Basically, I think that your only limit is your creativity. If you would eat it, it counts. If you can get it, it counts. Because in real life, there are people making those decisions because they have to.
I forgot to address the family get-togethers. I think that if you were homeless or severely money-disadvantaged, they would allow you to eat their food? Maybe you could bring some kind of dish to share, seems like you could bring a big bowl of blackberries this time of year?). In my real-life example, I don’t expect my jobless brother to bring his own food to our family get-togethers.
This has been a fascinating subject for me to read about!
I wouldn’t count it.
I can’t exactly find someone that would need to buy diapers all the time. It’s kind of a one time lucky event.
This is different from the various deals you find in newspapers, because I can easily get those Sunday insert coupons.
In other news, I’ve decided that I need to go get a Sunday paper if I’m going to participate in this. The side effect of this blog is that you may save the newspaper industry.
If you want to get technical with your sister, who is a sore loser it would seem, I would call the savings a “finders fee” or “shopping fee”! Would your family feed you if you were only able to afford 1.00 a day? If the answer is yes, your sister loses again. I’m not sure continueing to change the rules is a good thing. Flexibility is good, constant upping of the stakes is not.
Wanted to add that I mean no disrespect to your sister. You’ve proven that it can be done with lot’s of work and creativity, she needs to concede already! 🙂
I’m confused about the logic of making this an issue. Aren’t you already buying tons of stuff you do not need or use (which you donate to the food bank = “for other people”) in order to get stuff you do need and use? Maybe Sis should’ve just driven out for her own dang diapers (j/k)! Well, she is making it hard on you, but to cast a positive light on her sisterly nitpicking, she is definitely motivating more thoughtfulness in accomplishng your goal.
I say, absolutely count it — absolutely! A CVS card is free, anyone can have one, No cheating or special circumstances — anyone. You simply did your sister a favor and reaped the rewards. Life if full of opportunities for someone as industrious as yourself. And you even share (a lot!) with those less fortunate — it is really kind of amazing! Your sister should be cheering you on 🙂
I also think you should have been able to eat whatever you were offered at the BBQ. Even if you were destitute you would be able to accept food from your loving family or from friends or even a food bank. BUT, your dinner looked so great that it was a fantastic teaching moment — bet everyone there was blown away by the repast you put out! Bravo to you, once again! I thought of you when i found a lemon on my walk today — now about those loquats . . .
Absolutely count it. You’ve said before that you don’t partake of deals that require you to spend more than you’re willing to spend in order to get a deal, and the favor your sister asked of you allowed you to take advantage of an offer. How is that a problem? If she hadn’t asked, you wouldn’t have done it, right? I think she’s trying very hard to be nitpicky because she doesn’t want to admit that you’re doing what you set out to do.
Regardless of whether she concedes your success or not, in the end, you’re proving to a whole lot more of us out here that it *is* possible. If I’m ever in dire enough straits to need to restrict my food budget as much as you are, I’m grateful that your blog is here to serve as an example of the creative and thrifty ways that it can be done.
And as an unrelated aside, I wanted to point out that I saw an ad in the August issue of Eating Well magazine for Alvarado St. Bakery’s sprouted bread that featured a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Clearly, if a company is willing to feature that sandwich so prominently in an ad, it’s not some kind of freakish food only enjoyed by a select few. (I might also add that reading through your backlog of posts inspired me to consume one because it’d been years since I’d done so.)
Keep on rockin’, and apologies for the long comment!
Your sister’s being a poor sport again, and this time it looks even worse because on one hand she’s taking advantage of your creativity in getting deals, then with the other hand trying to penalize you for doing so!
No one works for free, and you would not be buying her diapers if she hadn’t asked and if you hadn’t learned how use exactly the skills she’s challenging right now. Given that this challenge has become something of a job, it is only fair for part of the payment for you to be able to use things others ask you to buy to increase your ability to save for yourself.
And, for the record, of course you can eat others’ food at barbecues and potlucks! That’s precisely how it’s supposed to work. I would like to gently point out to your sister that every time she tries to throw these road blocks in your path, she looks as if she’s simply a poor sport. She probably doesn’t care about what your readers think of her, but she doesn’t look good to most of us (from reading others’ comments as well).
HOWEVER, I have to give her a lot of credit for goading you into this challenge (and for being smart enough to ask you to help her get the best bang for her buck as well).
I think that the restrictions your sister is trying to place are getting a little ridiculous. From what I understand, you are trying to live as someone who has a limited budget, and happens to be living well on that budget. Stuff like getting free samples at the food market and taking them home (once it is given to you, it is yours… if you feel uncomfortable taking them, don’t take them), making money off buying something from someone else (who ASKED you to get this for them) and eating at family gatherings (family doesn’t charge you for food, and they don’t say “Bring your own stuff, because we are only feeding the ones with more money than you, Budget McGee”)are scenarios that come up for people who are on limited budgets also–so I’m not understanding why any of it would be against the spirit of the competition. I get that you don’t necessarily have to live this way, but since you are choosing to, I don’t see these scenarios as an issue and I wonder why your sister is putting up these unreasonable limitations.
It should absolutely count! You were willing to do that extra work on her behalf- she could have gotten the same deal herself. (I bought the same diapers and used the $5 off $25 coupon myself yesterday.)
I’m getting confused about what the focus of the experiment is, because some of the restrictions she’s trying to introduce seem arbitrary. No offense to your sister but she really sounds like she’s making things up in an effort not to lose.
The best way to make $1 a day work is to find creative solutions – and doing a chore for someone while getting a chance to use your deal seems a legitimate creative solution. (as did the free samples earlier, and your foraging during walks)
And imo on a BBQ you should be able to participate as the others do — bring a dish to share if that’s what they do and then dig in, or just dig in if someone’s hosting it.
I’m not sure I completely followed the math, but did your sister get some of that $5 off from the coupon that you were able to use? I think she should have. I think you should figure it out by percentage of overall purchase.
In other words, if you get a $5 off $20 purchase coupon and you and your sister each have $10 worth of stuff you want to buy, then you should both have the advantage of getting $2.50 off. In your case, that probably means nothing since you probably figured out someway to masterfully get your $10 of stuff free, but in hers, it’d mean she’d pay you back $2.50 less than she would have otherwise.
I have “joined” the coupon data base you spoke of a few days ago. I understand you cannot print out coupons from that site, but I don’t seem able to find just where I CAN print out the coupon. The picture of the item will say “See Source”, and then doesn’t seem to have the coupon to print out. What am I missing? Thank you.
You have inspired me and I have now read most of our blog.
I voted no. It should either be pro-rated as Amber suggested, or it goes to the ether of your budget. I don’t mind someone with limited resources making a couple bucks shopping for people, but you are playing a game and I agree with her that it does seem to be stretching the boundaries.
WRT parties, I think you should have to exchange like for like. You having to bring your own food seems silly and puts a bit more work on you for little justification (going back to it being a game rather than real life). So you should either a) have to bring enough food to balance what you’re eating, or you should have to keep track of how many family BBQs you attend, and at the end of the month host a party and invite that many people.
I actually think the second idea could be interesting. You will have shopping options of scale that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you and you would really be held to the fire on “food other people would eat”.
@Cynthia Huth
If it says “see source” then it probably from a Sunday newspaper insert: RP = RedPlum and SS = SmartSource. Then you look at the date it was added to the database and that is what insert you find it in. That is why I date all of my inserts:
https://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/coupon-organization-day-46-eating-well-on-1-a-day/
I’m sorry, but it seems to me that your sister is punishing you for doing her a favor! She ASKED you to pick up the diapers for you. You had to go out of your way to do so, you just chose to make the most of your trip.
I don’t see how this is much different from the time you bought pantyliners, the only difference is that with the pantyliners you had an overage at the store that resulted in you getting “free” product and this time your sister reimbursed you for your out of pocket expense.
As family you should want to do things to help each other out. You helped her by picking up the diapers (with YOUR discount card-a card that she could easily get and then go to the store herself), and in return she has helped you by having her purchase put you up to an amount where you could use that coupon.
It seems a little selfish and unfair to me, no disrespect intended.
Also, in regards to the BBQ-It would be one thing if you were going to visit friends or family every day and getting a free meal out of it but you aren’t. I think you should be entitled to one “free pass meal” a month. Whether that be going out to dinner or going to a friend/family members house for a meal. If I remember correctly, there were a few times that your sisters children were over while you were eating and you shared your meal with them, right? Now, I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t have shared with them because that would just be wrong but it just seems like yet another example of your sister getting the better end of the deal. She doesn’t want for you to be able to bring home samples from farmers markets or attend BBQ’s/etc. but it is ok for her to bring her children over and allow them to eat your somewhat limited resources? (Again, I’m not in any way saying that you shouldn’t give to them because if you were having to survive on a $1/day budget, as an adult with half a heart you would make sure that the child/children were fed before yourself)
This goes back to the whole reason you started this…IF you HAD to survive on $1 a day you would do whatever it took to make sure you had enough to eat, right?
I voted “no,” but this comes with a caveat – it’s okay with respect to your sister.
I agree that most people who need to get by on $1/day can and should use anything at their disposal. I also understand that the rules for this month are relaxed. that said….
This is a challenge. The challenge is to get by for less than $1.00/day. If you are saving money for someone else & getting something in return. I think that’s a lot like, ex., painting a garage and then using that money for food & then not counting it toward you limit. I think it’s cheating.
BUT… I think things change when we are talking about your sister. She challenged you, so if she is the one who makes the request, then you should be allowed to use that extra money for food. She’s correct with respect to other friends & family, but not with her own requests.
(I know I’m being out-voted, but I don’t see this as a “I live on a limited income” challenge; rather, I see this as a “I can live off of $1.00 a day” challenge. The difference may be subtle, but I really think it’s important & goes to the heart of things.)
Me thinks your sister needs to find a hobby and leave you alone. Dang!
I think you’re doing great and not letting you eat at a family function is just wrong.
I guess Costco samples would send her over the edge, huh?
Tchann, they are definitely loquats. Persimmons are quite a bit larger, and don’t have that cavity you can see where the central stone was, and are a more reddish orange than the yellowish orange loquats.
As to the question, I can’t quite decide. It does seem somewhat like being paid for shopping. Earning extra money by work shouldn’t count – I don’t think it would be in the spirit to barter, say, mowing someone’s lawn in return for a box of groceries. But this isn’t quite the same thing – she paid for her purchase, you benefitted from the coupons. I’m undecided.
But you should *definitely* be allowed to eat everyone else’s food at a potluck or family dinner.
I totally agree with KAS !
Are the $8 in extra care bucks sorta double deducted? For example you’ve taken the $14 in care bucks that you got today off the total, but when you use them are you going to deduct them from that total also? Seems that they can only be deducted once.
@CMyst
Good question. When I started this challenge, I had a bunch of Extra Buck already banked from long ago from purchases I had made at CVS. Since it was impossible for me to figure this out whether they came to me for free or I had purchased something that I needed and paid money oput of pocket, I didn’t think it was fair to use those Extra Bucks I had accumulated in this challenge. Thus, I have been playing a zero sum game with my CVS purchases. I try the best I can to use Extra Bucks to come out the same as whatever Extra bucks I am getting back. If I went to CVS and spent that $14 in Extra Bucks and didn’t get any Extra Bucks back, I would consider that having spent $14 toward the $1 a day total. So I am deducting them only once.
I’m not sure if someone else has pointed it out, or if you already know, but dandelions are edible. They were not indigenous to North America; they were brought over by European settlers who used them in their kitchen gardens.
Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. The leaves are good mixed in with other salad greens. And of course, pretty much anything is good sauteed in oil with garlic. And dandelions are highly nutritious.
I think that it absolutely counts this time, SHE asked YOU to do it, and she’s just didn’t like it when she realized she helped you out.
However, I don’t think that you should just start regularly asking people if you can get them something so that you can take advantage of it.
If people ask you to pick something up for them, and you can get something free out of it, I say go for it!
I definitely think you should be able to eat the food at special occasion gatherings as long as you bring along a family-sized dish to share. For example, you could have made some potato salad, a rice dish or even bought dried beans and spruced them up with your bbq sauce.
However, I am definitely on the fence with the CVS/ECB thing. It doesn’t quite seem right for you to buy for other people,but I can’t put my finger on why I think that. Then I remember the bloggers that make a home business out of buying up bargain items and selling them at a yard sale for a tidy profit: http://couponsinoverdrive.blogspot.com/2009/01/green-is-my-favorite-color.html
But if you start buying for other people, then would you start selling your coupons on Craigslist for extra ECBs? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with selling or trading coupons, and I think your rules can be adapted as needed. I just think this is one time where the purpose of the challenge is a bit foggy and needs to be clarified. (Btw, what do you do with all your unused coupons, if you don’t mind me asking?)
You should totally be allowed to do this! You were doing your sister a favor!
Or perhaps she should pay your for your time in doing her errands for her, since this seems to be getting techinical?!
Since life has handed you a gallon of milk (your sister is just jealous she isn’t as creative as you are) you need to learn to make yogurt. Your morning shake/smoothie will be even better made with yogurt. I make mines with frozen fruit, yogurt and sometimes a bit of milk if I need some liquid to get the blender to be able to work. They turn out thick enough to eat with a spoon. I like my fruit smoothies better than soft ice cream. Soft ice cream used to be my favorite summer time treat now these fruit smoothies are.
I add a bit of powdered milk and incubate it in a small picnic cooler. Best yogurt ever and it is so cheap to make.
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/giftinajar/homemade-yogurt.shtml
Your sister wouldn’t have even gotten the great deal on diapers without your work and the coupons were yours to use whoever you were buying for. If your sister has a problem, then she should be clear that she wants her stuff purchased separately.
And who has to bring their own food to a gathering? Unless it is a potluck, I say no fair. We all get a free meal at some point at a friend or family member’s home and do the same in return. Not to be picky, but did your sister repay you for the food her kids ate at your house? That just seems really mean, right? So why does she hold you to a different standard?
I agree with KAS and those who say your sister is either jealous or trying to make your experiment fail. If she objects to this practice, she must also object to your overall practice of using BOGOs and catalinas to acquire free or almost-free food and then donating the unneeded cleaning supplies (or pantiliners, or Rolaids, or whatever) to charity. There doesn’t seem to be any difference here except where the acquired “extra” items end up: in her house or at a charity. Besides, she shouldn’t ask you to do a favor for her and then kick you in the teeth like that.
You turned the family gathering into a teachable moment (good job!), and I have to say you did yourself proud and handled the whole thing gracefully.
I have been reading your blog for the last couple of weeks and it is fascinating! I don’t find it so because of the challenge and the “rules”–what makes it interesting is you, Jeffrey. You are engaging, honest and humble. Your sister, on the other hand, sounds like a very manipulative person. Not only have her kids eaten your food, but I remember that you mentioned she helped herself to a good slice of your quiche. Did she offer to pay you for that? And being from an Italian family, I am absolutely appalled that people let you attend a family party and didn’t let you eat the food. In my family it’s considered deviant not to send the kids home with plenty of left-overs! I say please continue your blog but ditch your sister, her “challenge” and her “rules.” I feel kind of sorry for her kids, who seem quite adorable. Is this how she will treat them? You have already more than proved your point–now just let all the Jeffrey fans keep following your adventures.
I think your sister is wrong. What you did for the diapers, toothpaste, etc is almost like a buying coop or shopping club. Which if you really do rely on $1 a day is a good way to feed yourself and save money.
Your sister is a poor sport, is actively trying to make you fail, but is also at the same time asking for favors. I’d call that rude at best, and narcissistic at worst. Tell her to get her own damn diapers next time.
I’m on the other side of the fence. I think your sister is right. I think you are kind of pushing the boundaries on this one.
Concerning the $5. I have often wondered this myself. I often purchase items for my elderly mother and use $5 off coupons. I have pondered if it is right for me to benefit from the $5 or pass on the savings to my mother, who lives on Social Security and needs all she can get. My husband was unemployed and I needed all I can get. I have decided that we need to share the savings as some readers have suggested. I get half and she gets half.
I’m loving your blog! The food is looking much more edible. I came upon a cooking blog and thought of your blog, so, I share the link – http://startcooking.com/ (I’m not affiliated with them)
I’m a bit intimidated by the couponing process, but I find this blog very encouraging. Thank you!
I’m so busy trying to psycho-analyze your sister, I can’t remember what I was going to say.
Your sister’s rules are getting ANNOYING.
P. S. I would eat most of your meals =)
She asked you to use your coupons to buy her things at a lower price.
If she didn’t want you able to use that as credit for free food for you, she should have gotten her own coupons and done her own shopping. Even if it meant asking you which coupons, or possibly even asking you FOR the coupons.
Also, if you’re invited to a family buffet, where you aren’t required to bring food, then you should be able to eat for free there, and have it valid. Family is a resource that most people have, and you never once promised to give up your family and friends just to fulfill some challenge.
(Just thought I’d toss my vote in here now.)
I have to agree with the other readers here. Your sister is continually throwing roadblocks in your way. Why, I don’t know. The whole point of this is to show how someone can survive on very little money, using whatever means are available. Keep up the good work.
Since she asked you, then yes. But I don’t think it should be an every day thing because that’s not realistic. I also think you should be able to eat at family gatherings. Did your sister bring all the food she consumed? It would make sense if you brought a dish (if your family does these thing potluck-style) and you incorporated that dish into your budget. What would you have brought before the challenge?
Call your profit on the diapers deal:
A. Finder’s fee
B. Personal Shopper’s fee
C. Gas fee
You’ve posted before that you often share with others stuff you get for free. Therefore, sis has been benefiting all along and can’t complain that she didn’t get extra money off on her super-cheap purchase.
Also, she didn’t give you that coupon. If she gives you the coupons, she has a right to expect to reap the benefit of the coupons–probably a %50 share.
Third, I’ve seen where you’ve been occasionally feeding your sister’s kids with your $1 per day. Maybe only snacky foods, but still, it’s been healthy and comes right out of your minuscule budget.
You and your sis are very competitive. I can tell sis hates to lose to you. What are the stakes of this bet? Does she have to give you a prize she can’t afford?